Conservative journalist and commentator Tucker Carlson recently spoke about how the moment former President Donald Trump pumped his fist to the crowd after being shot at his rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday marked a pivotal shift for him as a leader. Addressing the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Carlson explained that Trump had been shot by “a bullet that pierced the upper part” of his right ear, and after standing up “after being shot in the face” wiping the blood from his face and raising his fist, “everything became different after that moment.
Carlson recounted watching the video of Trump’s shooting fifteen to fifty times, and noted that “the more I watched it, the more it struck me that everything was different after that moment. Everything. This convention is different, the nation is different, the world is different, Donald Trump is different.
He continued, stating that when Trump stood up after being shot in the face, bloodied, and put his hand up, “I thought at that moment, that was a transformation. This was no longer a man,” adding that he also believes it was “divine intervention.” Carlson added that at that moment, Trump was “no longer just” the nominee of one of the political parties, “a former president” or even a “future president.
Instead, in Carlson’s view, this event transformed Trump into “the leader of a nation,” which he sees as a different concept from merely holding a political title. He argued that while a presidency comes with great power and is bestowed by a process that can be subverted, it does not confer legitimacy on its own. Rather, being a leader is an organic quality that cannot be assigned to someone; they must prove themselves as “the bravest man” in their organization.
This transformation of Trump into the leader of the nation occurred during a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a nearby rooftop, shooting him. Along with leaving Trump wounded, Corey Comperatore, a former Pennsylvania fire chief, was left dead after trying to protect his wife and daughter by throwing them “to the ground” after the former president had been shot. Two others at the rally were also injured.
As a result of this incident, Carlson believes that Trump has truly become the leader of the nation in a way that cannot be bestowed upon him by any title or process. His resilience and bravery in the face of danger have earned him the respect and admiration of millions of Americans, solidifying his position as a leader who stands above others in the political arena.